| A type | |
|---|---|
 A1 at the Tramway Museum, St Kilda in March 2009 | |
| Manufacturer | Duncan & Fraser |
| Assembly | Adelaide |
| Constructed | 1908/09 |
| Number built | 70 |
| Fleet numbers | 1-30, 61-100 |
| Capacity | 40 |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 10.19 metres |
| Width | 2.69 metres |
| Height | 3.35 metres |
| Weight | 10.9 tonnes |
| Traction motors | 2 x 33hp Westinghouse |
| Current collection method | Trolley pole |
| Bogies | JG Brill Company 21E |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
The A type Adelaide tram was a class of 70 drop-end, Californian combination trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide in 1908/09 for the Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT). They were used on tram lines to Kensington, Marryatville, Maylands, Payneham, Wakerville, North Adelaide, Parkside, Unley and Hyde Park. In later years they were cascaded to quieter services to Croydon and the isolated Port Adelaide network. [1] [2] [3]
Duncan and Fraser Limited was an Australian vehicle manufacturing company founded in 1865 that built horse-drawn vehicles and bodies for trains, trams and motor cars in Adelaide, South Australia, becoming Australia's largest such manufacturer. Later, the company held and operated automotive distributorships and dealerships.
Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia, and the fifth-most populous city of Australia. The demonym Adelaidean is used to denote the city and its residents.
The Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) was established by the Government of South Australia in December 1906 to purchase all of the horse-drawn tramways in Adelaide, Australia. The Trust subsequently also ran petrol and diesel buses and electric trolleybuses. It ceased to exist on 8 December 1975, when its functions were transferred to the State Transport Authority, which also operated Adelaide's suburban train services.
Their California combination description encompassed their combination of a central saloon compartment and open cross-bench seating at each end; a design that had proved popular in California, with its climate similar to Adelaide's.
California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents across a total area of about 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.
When the MTT introduced an alphabetical classification system in 1923, they were designated A type. Many were retired in the 1930s, but most returned to service during World War II operating in coupled pairs to conserve manpower. These were nicknamed Bib & Bubs after comic characters created by children's author May Gibbs. The remaining examples were withdrawn in 1952. [1] [3]
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
Cecilia May Gibbs MBE, publishing under the name May Gibbs, was an English Australian children's author, illustrator, and cartoonist. She is best known for her gumnut babies, and the book Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.
They were never fitted with air brakes, instead using handbrakes for normal stops and magnetic track brakes for emergencies. [1] All 70 were originally fitted with Brill Winner style (tip-over) seats in the saloon section; in 1937 20 cars swapped their seats with Hale & Kilburn fixed rattan seats from 20 C type trams.
The Hale & Kilburn company of Philadelphia was a furniture manufacturing company founded by Henry S. Hale and Cheney Kilburn. The Hale & Kilburn company's primary business was the production of railroad car seats for the greatly expanding American railroad companies. The Hale & Kilburn company was sold to J.P. Morgan & Co. in 1911 for $9 million.
The C type Adelaide tram was a class of 20 drop end, California combination trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide in 1918 for the Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT). All were delivered in 1918, but as they were receiving second-hand motors from the E type trams, the last did not enter service until September 1919. When the MTT introduced an alpha classification system in 1923, they were designated the C type.
Numbers 10, 69 and 92 were sold to the State Electricity Commission of Victoria and placed in service in Ballarat as numbers 21, 23, and 22. The former remained in service until the system closed in 1971. [1] [4]
The State Electricity Commission of Victoria is a government-owned electricity supplier in Victoria, Australia. It was set up in 1918, and by 1972 it was the sole agency in the state for electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply. Control of the SECV was by a Board of Commissioners appointed by the Victorian Government. After 1993, the SECV was disaggregated into generation, transmission and distribution companies, which were further split and then privatised in the mid to late 1990s. However, electricity supply agreements with the Portland and Point Henry aluminium smelters were retained by SECV, which continued as their electricity supplier.
Trams in Ballarat were first used for public transport in 1887. They ceased to operate as a means of public transport in 1971, but a section continues to be operated today as a tourist attraction.
